The Legend of Oculos: Twilight of the Death Dragon
by Warrior of Spectra
Summary: With the death of his mortality at the claws of the Purple Dragon, Spyro, Oculos is left adrift in a seemingly unending abyss. As the death dragon reflects on his past and how he became the infamous Death Dragon, little does he realize that his soul is changing...and that soon he will ascend beyond mortality...and that his future is forever changed.
1. Prologue: Reflections

**Prologue: Reflections**

**A/N: This fic is a collaboration between Native Avenger and Warrior of Spectra. The Legend of Oculos: Twilight of the Death Dragon is a prequel to a previous fic Native Avenger and I wrote, The Legend of Spyro: The Forsworn. **

**This fic focuses on the "Death Dragon" Oculos, the loyal second in command and loving mate of Persephone, the Dragon-Goddess of the Underworld. **

**This fic takes place immediately after Oculos' defeat near the end of The Legend of Spyro: The Forsworn and focuses on Oculos' history, starting from when he was a Dragonling, and how he rose through The Forsworn ranks to become Persephone's second in command. Most importantly this fic goes in depth on Oculos and Persephone's relationship.  
**

**With out further ado, on with the story!  
**

**...**

_Mortality is a frail force, Oculos was first taught that when Persephone took him under her wing, when a mortal is wounded, the cradle their wounded limb like a mother protecting her newborn. Mortal life was so much like glass. Even the slightest trimmer can destroy mortal life in one single small trimmer. _

_Even with his power over the luck of mortality, Oculos had always known he was mortal, that he could be killed like any other person in the world._

_But the thought of death did not frighten him._

_No…the thought of the most painful death possible did not make the Dragon cower in fear like most mortals. Even now he did not fear death…but what he feared was something more…personal._

_Persephone…his wife…the two had only been mated for a day, but even then it brought joy to Oculos. He fulfilled his mission, and his wife's safety was secured…_

_That was until the Purple Dragon, Spyro, and his allies defeated The God of Death while the god inhabited Oculos' body…and with his defeat, Oculos could only think the worse of what The God of Death would do to Persephone. The memory of Persephone whimpering in pain as the God of Death tortured her filled Oculos mind. _

_As Oculos had fallen to his death after the God of Death's presence left his body, Persephone saved him from the fall from Warfang's highest tower and she had taken him to a distant forest. In his last moments in the physical world, Persephone made him drink a drop of her blood…and she kissed him softly as his eyes closed. _

_And then he passed on…_

_Or so he would have thought…_

_The void was nothing, not even black…it wasn't describable to the mortal eye. All Oculos knew was that he was neither in the Afterlife nor the mortal realms…was he in between? Was he really dead but his soul was trapped in a netherworld?_

_Oculos' eyes opened, at least he thought they were open, his unnatural yellow eyes with his crimson pupils scanning the void around him. _

_A deep and sad sigh escaped his mouth as his body continued to drift, again the familiar soft chill filled his heart as it beat again. _

_What was happening to him? Oculos had wondered countless times. What was to become of him? But most importantly: What would happen to Persephone now that he failed his mission to be the God of Death's Avatar? _

_Despite all of the questions that filled his mind…he regretted none of his actions. His life had purpose, he served Persephone faithfully, and died for what he believed in and died to protect the love of his life._

_Even now, drifting in this void, he regretted nothing._

_Now…all he could do...was think…think of the distant past…before he became Persephone's second in command…back when he was just a lowly soldier raising through the ranks of The Forsworn…and being tried for a crime that he never, would never, commit._

…..

**_Twenty Years ago: Lumimyrsky_**

He was only seventeen then. Yet he had achieved so much in his teenage years. To the outside world, he was the General of Lumimyrsky's military and King Adla most trusted advisor. But to those who truly knew the young grey dragon, Oculos was a loyal follower of Persephone, the immortal leader of the infamous Forsworn.

A secret army who brought terror to the world with just it's name. With agents of The Forsworn reaching out across the world, hiding in the shadows and manipulating the politics of mighty kingdoms, The Forsworn was truly a force to be feared.

In Oculos' case, the grey dragon was one of the few to gain the favor of Persephone, the Dragon-Goddess of the Underworld and was one of the few who Persephone trusted with her entire immortal being.

But none of that seemed to matter now…not in his position…

The grey dragon was blind folded, his unnatural yellow eyes unable to see his surroundings. But he was not intimidated.

As his paws and talons clicked on the stone floor, causing echoing sounds, he occasionally felt the sharp blade of a sword gently touch in between his shoulders.

"Move faster," Oculos' 'escort', a bipedal snow wolf like the Cheetahs of Avalar, growled at the dragon. "We don't want to keep The Court busy."

Oculos made no comment to his escort, and merely replied by stepping faster.

About two minutes later, the seventeen year old Dragon and his escort reached their destination. The sound of a wooden door could be heard creaking open. Oculos was pushed forward into the room. Oculos felt his paws touch a carpet as he stepped into the room, the feeling of warmth brushed against his scales as he entered the room.

The sound of whispers touched Oculos' ears when he entered the room. He could just barely make out a few of the whispers. Most of the whispers had been from allies he had known.

"I can't believe he would do such a thing…"

"Serves him right…"

"No one could be that loyal to Persephone without wanting something in return…"

Oculos ignored the whispers.

Oculos was soon lead to a stop when he felt a scaly paw touch his chest…soon the feeling of cold iron chains touched his neck as a cuff clamped down on his neck firmly. Soon his forelegs were restrained along with his wings and tail. The sound of a locking mechanism could be heard.

The whispers died down when the sound of a familiar clicking of talons tapping across the stone floor filled the room…and the aura of the mighty Dragon-Goddess of The Underworld filled the room…gracing Oculos' presence as he humbly bowed his head.

The clicking of the talons stopped as a gust of wind filled the room.

Seconds of silence filled the room…until the familiar winter cold voice spoke in a soft, yet commanding, tone.

"Take off the blindfold…" Persephone voice filled the room.

"But milady…" The wolf guard asked, worriedly. "He will…"

"He won't." Persephone interrupted coolly. "Remove the blind fold, **now." **

"Yyyeesss…Milady…" The Wolf guard hesitated as he fumbled with Oculos' blind fold after hearing the Forsworn leader's cold words.

Light graced Oculos' eyes as the cloth blindfold was removed. At first the light was disorientating, but his unnatural eyes adjusted…When his eyes adjusted, he realized that he was standing in the middle of the sentencing chamber of one of The Forsworn safe houses within Lumimyrsky…behind him were several high ranking Forsworn agents, sitting in chairs…waiting eagerly for the trial of Persephone's youngest high ranking follower.

But his eyes did not focus on those behind him…but the one who was sitting high above him on a stone throne.

Sitting on the stone carved throne several feet in the air…was Persephone herself.

Her ebony black scales were as dark as night, emerald green and crimson markings blazed parts of her scales. A jagged scythe blade took the form of The Dragon-Goddess' tail blade. She had three sets of horns, Cynder, the Terror of the Skies, almost resembled her…except the Dragoness' features were more mature…and cold.

Persephone looked down at Oculos with her piercing crimson irises that spread terror to all races in the Dragon Realms, even her own followers. But to Oculos…only he was not terrified by her eye…to him…the eyes were beautiful.

Oculos bowed his head humbly…diverting his eyes from his leader.

He heard someone pace in front of him.

"Milady," The familiar tone of the ice Dragoness Cecilia, Persephone's second in command, filled the room. "Out almighty leader…I requested your presence here today because of a plot…this…" The ice dragoness paused.

Oculos looked up at the ice dragoness.

Cecilia was a rather attractive dragoness. Her dragoness form was slender, something most male dragons found attractive in a Dragoness. Her scales were a light blue with white markings. A long scar ran across the left corner of her mouth, a war scar that she had received when she still served The Empire of Warfang in it's war against the Ape king, Gaul's, forces.

Cecilia had paused, her face trying to restrain her visible shock.

"This dragon…" Cecilia continued, regaining her composure. "Attempted to overthrow _you_…you…the Dragon-Goddess of The Underworld."

There were whispers in the room…some were shocked at the accusation towards Oculos…

Oculos kept his eyes diverted from Persephone's; he felt her gaze fall upon him. She shifted her weight to one side and rested the side of her head on her left fist.

"Proceed Cecilia…" Persephone began.

And so the trial had begun…and little did the young Oculos know, that his future would be forever changed…

But all he could do now…was think back to that night…the night it all began all those years ago back in the Tall Plains city of Tasangot…


	2. Chapter 1: Tortured soul

**The Legend of Oculos: Twilight of the Death Dragon**

**Part 1: The Apprentice **

**Chapter 1: A tormented soul**

**A/N: The story of Oculos will be divided into three parts in this story. Each part spans important parts of his life, eventually leading up to his "Trial". Inbetween these parts will be a chapter focusing on Oculos' present state. This chapter takes place when Oculos is five years old, before he knew of his powers and his loving and supportive parents were still alive.**

**...**

**Tasangot: Major trading city located in The Tall Plains. **

It was a warm day in the city of Tasangot, Tall Plains; various citizens were leaving their apartments to go to their jobs. In one of the apartments of the ancient city, a very young Oculos was still sleeping in his bed. The young gray dragonling was snoring softly as the morning sun shone through his window and over his closed eyelids.

The young dragon groaned softly as he slowly opened his yellow and red eyes, only to quickly close them again because of the light shining in his eyes. He slowly moved his head away from the light and opened his eyes again, this time able to keep them open. When his eyes were fully open, he could see that he was in a very familiar environment, his room.

Slowly, Oculos got out of his bed covers and commented to stretch his legs with his back arched. When he heard the satisfying sound of his bones popping into place, he hopped off of his bed and walked over to the door on the other side of the room. The door was slightly ajar and with a simple push of his paw, the door fully opened.

The young gray dragon walked out into the hall and casually made his way down the nearby stairs. He soon found himself in the kitchen and he could see his parents. His mother, who was a wind dragoness with white scales, was cooking breakfast at the woodstove. His father, a black scaled shadow dragon, was sitting at the table and speaking to his mate. The strong shadow dragon noticed Oculos as soon as he entered however and smiled.

"Hello, son. Did you have a good night's sleep?" his father greeted kindly.

"Hi dad, hi mom. Yeah, I did." the young Oculos answered with a smile of his own and he watched as his mother walked over to them with the cooked food.

"That's good to hear, honey." the wind dragoness spoke sweetly as she rested their plates on the table and sat down.

Oculos' parents began to speak to one another about their plans for the day. His mother stated how she wished to tend to their garden while his father explained how he'd go to the local general store, which was where he went for work. While they talked however, Oculos stayed mostly quiet. This is how most of most of their mornings went.

Once they were all finished eating breakfast, his mother stood up and took their plates to the sink, where she proceeded to clean them. The shadow dragon also got up and was about to head to the door. Before he left however, his son started speaking.

"Mom, dad… is it alright if I stay home to play today?" the young gray dragon asked quietly, as if he was hesitant to ask the question.

Both of his parents quickly looked over at him with frowns. They glanced at one another before the looked back at their only child.

"Son, I know you're worried about those bullies, but you can't make any friends if you stay cooped up in this house all the time…" his father started with a sigh at the beginning.

"But everyone makes fun of me. They say I have demon eyes and that I'm stupid for not knowing what element I am. Some kids even threaten to beat me up." Oculos whined and his lower lip quivered slightly.

"No one's gonna beat you up, son. If they do, then I'll go speak to their parents and straighten everything out." the shadow dragon assured softly and his mate nodded in agreement.

Oculos wanted to argue that this wouldn't want to stop them, but he didn't want to argue with his parents. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He just sighed quietly and walked towards the door with his head lowered.

"Just come home if the other kids start to be mean to you again!" his mother called out before he left.

…

At the local playground in Tasangot, Oculos was walking around and looking about. He chose to stay away from all the other children, who were playing on the various swings, slides, and jungle gyms. Whenever he went out to play, he would simply stay at the sidelines and stay away from everyone else.

The young gray dragon walked over to a nearby bench and hopped onto the seat. As he sat down and got comfortable, a group of slightly older kids walked over to him. In the group, there was an Atlawa, a fire dragon, an earth dragon, and a poison dragon.

"Hey, demon-eyes! We wanna talk to you!" the fire dragon called out with a chuckle as the kids walked right in front of Oculos.

'Oh no…' Oculos thought to himself as his head drooped. "What do you want?" he asked quietly, obviously not liking their presence.

"My father told me that demons like you are evil and don't deserve to live. I just thought you'd want to know that." the fire dragon explained with a smirk and the others in the group chuckled.

"Yeah, why don't you do everyone a favor and just kill yourself?" the earth dragon asked with an amused smile.

"Leave me alone…" the young gray dragon said softly as he looked away from the older group.

"Wow, did you just tell US what to do, demon?" the Atlawa asked harshly as he balled his hands into fists.

Before Oculos could even blink, the fire and poison dragons rushed forward and roughly pinned his forelegs and wings to the bench's backrest. His yellow and red eyes widened in fear as he tried to struggle away and the older kids just chuckled at him.

"Hey! Let me… go!" he yelled as he struggled, but they refused to release him.

"She the fuck up, you evil demon." the Atlawan child spat before he roughly punched the helpless gray dragon in the gut.

Oculos grunted loudly and gasped as the air was knocked out of him. Before he could even recover his breath, the Atlawa punched his exposed belly again, leaving behind a noticeable bruise.

"Let me hit him next!" the earth dragon spoke excitedly.

The Atlawa just nodded with a smile and punched Oculos in the stomach once more before stepping aside. The earth dragon then spun around and smashed his tail into the defensless child's face, causing him to cry out in pain. The children laughed as they looked at his bruised body and the earth dragon and Atlawa took turns mercilessly punching his gut and face. With each punch, Oculos screamed and grunted in great pain.

Just when the beaten child felt like he was going ot pass out from the abuse, the older group released him and stepped back to admire their handiwork. They laughed as he slumped on the bench and panted heavily. Each of them then spat on his face before they walked away, laughing as they did so.

When he was alone, Oculos very slowly curled up into a ball on the bench and started sobbing. No one paid attention to the beating that just occurred and left the child to cry to himself. After what felt like an eternity passed and the sun was beginning it's descent towards the horizon, Oculos felt the strength to stand up again, but he was very weak. He whimpered quietly and sniffed as he limped out of the playground and towards home. He just hoped that no one else would hurt him on the way.

...

Oculos had finally reached his family's home without any further incident after the abuse he suffered from the children back at the playground. As he stepped in front of the door to his house, the five year old dragon wiped away any tears left in his eyes, and recited his story to himself again to tell his parents.

_'I climbed a tree, fell off, my wings got hurt so I couldn't fly and bruises are from hitting the branches on the way down.' _The Dragonling thought. He nodded softly. _'That should be good enough…they won't worry too much…'_

The young dragonling did not want to worry his parents, the only two people in his life that made him happy. Last thing he wanted was seeing his loving mother in tears as she cupped his cheeks and seeing his father enraged at the actions of the bullies who hurt his son. Even though Oculos always felt tempted to fight back, and he _really_ desired nothing more but to beat the bullies, he chose to restrain himself…since rumors would spread even more about him and, to an extent, his parents.

Finally, gathering the courage, Oculos slowly pushed the front door open, limped into his family's house.

Upon entering the house, he heard his mother and father speaking frantically with each other.

"He's never home this late…" Oculos' mother said, her voice filled with dread. "What if criminals found him…what if…?"

The sound of the door swinging shut caught the attention of the adult dragons. Oculos looked up to see his mother and father running out of the kitchen and into the living room. Oculos' mother bent down and wrapped her wings around her five year old son. Oculos felt his mother's lips touch his cheek, kissing him lovingly.

"Oh Oculos sweetie…" She said relieved, removing her wings from her son, looking at him as she stroked his cheek with her left paw. "You had me and your father so worried, you were gone for…"

Oculos' mother stopped, the glowing crystal lights on the walls giving his mother a chance to see her son's face…she saw the bruises and the small cuts across her son's face. Oculos saw his mother's eyes begin to water; the wind dragoness placed one paw over her lips and gasped.

"Sweetie…you're hurt…"

After swallowing softly, Oculos said. "I climbed up a tree and fell off, my wings got hurt so I couldn't fly and bruises are from hitting the branches on the way down."

Looking into his mother's eyes, and glancing at his father, who to looked worried at his son, Oculos noticed both of his parents looked as if they doubted his explanation…and in truth, Oculos knew he sounded like he had recited his tall tail right off of a script.

Oculos looked down at the carpet floor of the living room.

"Son…" His father said, stepping towards him, kneeling and placing a paw over the dragonling's shoulder. "What happened?"

Oculos said nothing, he felt his lower lip quiver…how much he wanted to tell his parents what happened, but he refused.

"I'm tired…" Oculos whispered, barely audible, but enough for his concerned parents to hear.

With that, the dragonling walked passed his parents, and up the stairs to his room. But as he entered his room, he could hear the sound of his loving mother sob into her mate's shoulder. As Oculos plopped onto his bed, and covered himself with his favorite blanket, buried his head into his pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, the young grey dragonling began to cry into the pillow…finally releasing all of the pent up sadness he had stored in that day.

He had no idea if sleep ever came to him or not, but all he knew was that if he did fall asleep, it was a dreamless sleep. But the next thing the dragonling remembered after crying was the sound of a knock on the door of his family's house. After opening his eyes and sitting up on his bed, Oculos darted for the window of his room. Looking out the window, looking down at the door that lead into the house a few feet down, he saw a black robed dragoness figure standing in front of the door, the crystal lights just barely provided any visibility for the figure, which seemed to mix with the darkness of the night.

His father opened the door. Oculos leaned closer to his window, hoping to hear the conversation but to no avail. A minute later, Oculos' father let the hooded figure in.

Oculos quickly made his way to the door of his bedroom, and silently opened it, when it was open all of the way, the dragonling quietly made his way to the stairwell that lead to the lower floor. While remaining on the second floor, Oculos quietly remained out of sight on the top of the stairs, and listened to the conversation between his parents and the mysterious dragoness.

"I told you! No!" Oculos' mother almost yelled at the Dragoness.

"Now now Cynthia…you know I mean no harm to your young son." The dragoness replied, in a voice as cold as winter, using the first name of Oculos' mother. To any person, the voice would send shivers down their spine…but to Oculos…he found it soothing. He didn't know why though. "It is not like I am forcing you to give him to me…it would be entirely your son's choice."

"I don't care." Cynthia said, coldly. "I know all about you…and your army. I won't let you turn him into a…killer!"

"A killer? No…I do not desire that of him. If he wants to be a killer, that is fine, I will give him the tools. But if he desires to live a life free of hardship, I will grant him that." The dragoness replied. "Ultimately, at least he will have a better life than what he has now. Where all of the little children his age spit at him, throw rocks at him and beat the poor dear senseless until he can't even feel the blows.

"And yet you both know, particularly you, Cynthia, that it won't be long now until his change is complete. Cynthia, you know particularly well why some members of your family become The Empire's prophets…Young Oculos is no exception."

"The Empire will come and help him…once Oculos has become my uncle's successor, he will get the respect he deserves!" Cynthia combated. "But you…you'll turn my baby boy into a killer!"

The other dragoness sighed, albeit sadly.

"Very well, I see I cannot persuade you…I will leave then." The dragoness said.

"We would greatly like that," Oculoss father growled, protectiveness was present in the growl. "If you ever come back, and you try and take our son away, you will regret it!"

The unknown dragoness could be heard walking to the door, opening it, causing a loud creaking noise. But the door stopped half way…and what the dragoness said next frightened Oculos.

"It won't be long now…when the change is complete; you will not know who his victims will be and neither will he…who knows…it maybe the two of you."

The door slammed shut. As soon as the door shut, Oculos darted for his room, his heart beating rapidly deep within his chest as he rushed to his room, and silently shut the door. The grey dragon jumped onto his bed, covering himself with his blanket covers and shut his unnatural yellow and red eyes…silently preying to The Goddess that the Dragoness was lying…

_"I'm normal…I'm normal…I'm normal...I'm normal!" _

Oculos whispered continuously those words, almost like a mantra until sleep finally overtook him.

When Oculos finally came to…it was midnight. The sound of his father leaving the house to go to his night job was what woke Oculos up.

The grey dragonling remained in bed silently awake, forgetting the conversation he heard last night…but the words "I'm normal" filled his mind. He whispered those words continuously, remembering the abuse he suffered from the children at the park that day.

The sound of his bedroom door opening caused him to stop whispering to himself, he heard his mother's soft footsteps approach his bed. He kept his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep…but his mother knew him better than he knew himself.

Oculos felt his mother's strong, yet gentle, warm wings pick him up and hug him towards her chest in a gentle warm embrace that always soothed Oculos no matter how hard his day was.

Cynthia walked out of her son's room, and into her and her husband's room, slowly climbing into their bed with her son still wrapped in her wings, and laid down on the bed. She gently stroked the back of Oculos' head lovingly and kissed his forehead.

Oculos finally felt the tears overwhelm him and began to cry, burying his head into his mother's chest and sobbed into it.

"Shhhhhh…" Cynthia said softly to her crying son. "Mommy's here sweetie…mommy's here…"

Oculos continued to cry, feeling safe in his mother's embrace.

Then, in a broken whisper, Oculos cried.

"I just want to be normal…" Oculos sobbed. "I just want to be normal…"

Tears rolled down Cynthia's cheeks as she listened to her son's sobs…and continued to comfort him until he fell asleep…


	3. Chapter 2: A Grandmother's Love

**Chapter 2: A Grandmother's love.**

Four days had passed without incident since Oculos' encounter with the bullies at the park. Oculos spent most of his time during the day with his mother while his father went to work. To the young grey dragonling, he enjoyed those days very much. But he could not help but remember the glares he received outside in the city while he walked with his mother. How the people of Tasangot viewed Oculos as nothing more than a pariah and a monster just because of his eyes.

Oculos thought more about the way people looked at him the mourning of the fourth day after his encounter with the bullies. The young dragonling had just awoken from yet another dreamless sleep, but lay underneath the covers of his bed as he aimlessly looked at the ceiling of his bedroom.

A deep sigh escaped Oculos as he moved under the covers, covering his head with his blanket as he tried in a futile attempt to go back to sleep but only failed when he heard a knocking noise at the front door of his family's house.

The dragonling then heard his mother's excited voice come from down stairs, and another dragoness' voice followed, one that made Oculos jump out of his bed excitedly while hoping and pleading to The Goddess that it was who he thought it was.

Oculos came to a stop at the stairway that leads to the first floor of his family's home.

"It's so good to see you mom…" Cynthia said to the new arrival. "It's been so long."

"I am so sorry my dear, time flies by for me, as you know, especially where I live…" A older dragoness said softly to Cynthia. "Now…where is my little grandson."

Oculos could not hold back the grin that grew on his face as he raced down the steps and onto the first floor, racing for the living room. Upon seeing the new arrival, Oculos was met with the sight of his parents greeting his grandmother, Claire.

Claire, for a fifty year old dragoness, had the figure of a thirty five year old dragoness, courtesy of her family's unique bloodline. Her grey scales still a healthy grey and her wings still strong. To Oculos, it was always a joy when his grandmother visited him, his mother and father.

The older dragoness was the first to notice her grandson arrive.

"There he is!" Claire said happily. Cynthia and Oculos father looked at Oculos, smiled and stepped aside as their son ran towards his grandmother. Claire smiled happily as she scooped her grandson up into her wings and stroked the back of her grandson's head with her left paw as she kissed his cheek. "Hey there kiddo…you've grown."

Oculos smiled.

"Hi grandma Claire!" Oculos said happily.

Claire slowly placed her grandson to the floor and rubbed his head.

"Sorry sweetie that I haven't been visiting often…my work with the gargoyle tribes has taken up much of my time…but not today sweetie." Claire said to her grandson, smiling. Claire looked at her daughter. "You wouldn't mind if I took him with me this morning? I need to gather some supplies from the market and I'd like to buy him some treats."

"I think that would be nice," Cynthia said, kneeling next to her son. "We can meet for lunch later."

Claire grinned. "It would be very nice." The older dragoness looked to her grandson. "Better get washed up, get something to eat, and we can leave kiddo."

Oculos nodded excitedly before running up to the bathroom to get ready for the morning, his smile not leaving his face.

Today, Oculos felt, was going to be a good day!

...

It didn't take long for Oculos to get ready to go. All he had to do was quickly brush his teeth and wash his face, and he was ready to go. When he was all cleaned up, he rushed down stairs and happily approached his grandmother.

"Ready?" Claire asked him with a sweet smile that seemed to brighten his very being.

The young dragonling nodded with a smile of his own. The older dragoness nodded before she looked up at her daughter.

"I'll have him back before lunchtime." Claire promised with that sweet tone of voice of hers.

"Alight, have fun you two." Cynthia told them both before she opened the front door for them.

"Bye mom!" Oculos said his goodbye before he followed his grandmother out the door and down the street.

Together, they walked through the city of Tasangot and entered a few stories. These shops ranged from general stores to hunting shops. Claire was buying some supplies for when she returned to the Gargoyle village. It was nice to have her grandson with her though; he kept asking her about her life with the Gargoyles and she answered each of his questions truthfully. She liked how inquisitive he was about her work and she seldom frowned while they were together.

As they traveled together, the older dragoness couldn't help, but notice the glares that Oculos was receiving. She hated how everyone viewed him because of his eyes. It baffled her how such a kind and well-mannered dragon was treated so poorly by everyone.

"Don't pay attention to them, Oculos. They're just a bunch of jerks." Claire said at one point as they exited a general store.

Oculos didn't say anything and simply nodded in understanding. Her voice alone reassured him and he knew that she would protect him from the other dragons.

"So, where are we going next, Grandma Claire?" the young gray dragon asked curiously as he looked up at her.

"Well, I promised that I'd get you treats, right?" his grandmother teased with a chuckle as she led him to a candy store across the street.

Oculos' eyes widened and he chirped cheerfully as they approached the store. Claire giggled at his happy attitude and they walked into the shop to see an Atlawa behind the counter.

"Hello, ma'am. What can I do for you today?" the store clerk greeted with a smile, but the end of his lip twitched briefly when he noticed Oculos.

"Hi. I'd like a bag of caramel squares and two cocoa bars." the dragoness told him, knowing her grandson's favorite candies.

The Atlawa nodded before he briefly turned around to fetch the ordered treats. Even though he didn't like Oculos for his eyes, he was still willing to sell his wares to the child because it made him money.

It didn't take long for the clerk to retrieve the candy and he turned around to set them on the counter.

"That'll be three silver coins, ma'am." the Atlawa told her.

Claire nodded before she reached into her leather pouch and pulled out the money. The clerk smiled as she handed him the money and she grabbed the candy with her paw.

"Thank you, ma'am. Please come again!" the Atlawa said cheerfully as the dragoness walked out with her grandson close behind her.

Once they were outside the shop, Claire turned around and smiled as she handed Oculos his candy. He let out a little cheer before he took the candy.

"Thank you, Grandma Claire!" he cheered gratefully as his tail started wagging excitedly.

"You're welcome, sweetie." his grandmother replied with a chuckle before she started walking again.

Oculos made sure to stay close behind her and he put his new candy into a little carrying bag his mother made for him recently. As they walked, he couldn't help but noticed the constant glares he was receiving. He frowned sadly because of all the hatred towards him and he lowered his head as he walked.

The older dragoness soon noticed how upset he looked and she suddenly stopped. Her grandson nearly bumped into her and he looked up at her with confusion in his eyes.

"How would you people like it if you were stared at like dirt all day!?" Claire asked loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "My grandson's eyes are beautiful, not some kind of evil force you should hate! You all make me sick to my stomach!" she continued with an angry snarl.

Some of the staring bystanders just scoffed and continued on their way. Others seemed to be intimidated by the fuming dragoness and they quickly departed. Claire huffed grumpily before she continued walking with her grandson.

"Thank you, Grandma Claire… No one's ever stood up for me like that before…" Oculos whispered gratefully as he walked a little closer to her.

"You are welcome, sweetie. I wasn't lying, your eyes are beautiful. Don't EVER let anyone tell you otherwise. Oculos, you're going to do great things in your life; I'm sure of it. Then all of those people who've been hating you will feel sorry. You'll see." his grandmother said soothingly as they walked towards his parents' house.

"Do you really think so?" he asked quietly with watery eyes and they stopped on the front porch.

"I know so, sweetie." Claire replied with a smile and she very gently nuzzled Oculos' forehead.

After she pulled her muzzle away, Claire led her grandson into Cinthia's house.

...

The next several hours passed with a blur for Oculos, and he enjoyed every moment of the day. True to her promise, Claire returned with Oculos to his house before lunch time. When Oculos and his grandmother returned home, Cynthia and her husband had just finished getting lunch ready.

The four had a peaceful lunch in the front room, after eating, Oculos curled up next to his mother and took a nap while his parents and grandmother spoke, Oculos would occasionally feel his mother's soft paw stroke his head as he slept, which made him feel even more at peace knowing the three people who loved him the most in this life were with him.

Upon waking from his nap, he was in his bed, the sky outside of his bedroom window was dark…apparently he had slept longer than he had intended for. The dragonling yawned as he stood up from his bed and hopped down onto the floor of his bedroom, and leaving the bedroom so go downstairs and visit his parents and grandmother.

As Oculos reached the stairwell…he found himself stop as he heard his parents and grandmother speaking in hushed voices. Oculos made sure to stay high enough on the stairwell so he could not be seen, yet could hear the conversation…it didn't take him to long to figure out his mother was crying and the three were talking about him.

Oculos strained his young ears to listen carefully.

"I don't understand mom…why? Why would they treat him like this? He has done NOTHING wrong. He is only five…" Cynthia said, her voice cracking several times as she spoke.

"I asked some shop keepers…he does nothing to instigate the treatment he receives…yet they fear him because of his eyes." Oculos' father said. "It's sick, they treat _our_ son like a monster...yet they beat him, spit at him and treat him like a Pariah! They claim they are doing it in the name of The Goddess…what kind of fools would believe that?!"

Oculos heard his grandmother shift and then spoke.

"I understand your sadness and anger…my parents and I felt the same thing when your uncle was constantly picked on because of his eyes Cynthia…that is the reason why my parents, your uncle and I lived with the dragons near the Gargoyle settlements. There, until the time was right, he could be treated like a normal person." Claire explained softly.

"I know mom…" Cynthia said, exhaling a hard breath. "You warned me when Oculos first hatched…that he would be different and people would fear him…but I just thought…I thought with the stories of Uncle's deeds that…that Oculos would be treated differently…"

"People fear what they do not understand sweetie…" Claire answered. "Many before Oculos were praised for their wisdom and love for all races…but unfortunately it isn't until their fifth year of life and their metamorphosis do they receive the noble treatment. Unfortunately…Oculos is no different."

There was silence in the room…until Claire said.

"My offer still stands…I have rooms made for you two and Oculos…in the settlement Oculos will receive the kindness and friendship he deserves. And we can all be together. Just the four of us." Claire said.

Oculos felt his heart skip a beat in excitement. Did his grandmother just say what he thought he heard? She was asking his parents to move in with her in the deep forests of Tall Plains?!

Oculos heard his mother and father whisper to each other, to low for him to hear. But their answer did not take long.

"We would love to move onto your settlement mom." Cynthia said happily.

Claire moved forward and Oculos heard his grandmother's wings wrap around his mother.

"Thank you sweetie…I would love to have you all close…even though my friends, all Dragons, mole, Wolf, Cheetah and Gargoyle alike, have been good company…It makes me happy to know my family will be closer." Claire said. "When do you want to move?"

"Give us three days…" Oculos' father said.

That was enough for Oculos. The five year old dragonling tip toed back to his room, barely holding back the excitement expanding in his heart. When he reached his bedroom, he jumped onto his bed happily, and rested his head on the pillows and covered himself with his favorite blanket.

As the dragonling tried to go to sleep, he found his mind racing with excitement at the thought that he, his mother and father would be leaving Tasangot to live with his grandmother. A place where he would be treated like a normal person. But while the thought of moving was enlightening to the dragonling, it also made him nervous. He had never been anywhere outside of the city of Tasangot.

Even though the city was miserable to him…it was home.

But the thought of being able to see his grandmother much more often than he normally saw her, which was once every six months, was enough to push back all of the nervousness plaguing him.

For the young Dragonling: he believed that today truly was the best day of his life.

But unknown to the dragonling, little did he know that this would be the very last "Best day" he would ever have…


	4. Chapter 3: Death of Innocence

**Chapter 3: Death of Innocence.**

About a day passed since Claire took Oculos to the market to spend some time with him. His parents made sure to inform he young dragon that they would be leaving to live with Claire even though he already knew this information. He was just happy that he would see his grandmother more and wouldn't be treated so badly by everyone.

Currently, Oculos was alone in his room and he was humming a cheerful tune to himself as he packed away some of his toys into a traveling bag. His father supplied him with the bag a few minutes ago and he decided to pack his toys first; starting with his stuffed animals and plushies.

The young dragon heard his bedroom door open behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see his mother walk in with a smile on her muzzle.

"Hello, sweetie. Are you excited?" Cynthia asked him with a soft tone of voice.

"Yes, mother." Oculos answered honestly with a nod.

His mother chuckled lightly due to his cheerful attitude, but she soon frowned. For some reason, his yellow and red eyes were beginning to glow brightly.

"What's wrong, mother?" the dragonling asked innocently with confusion in his voice.

Cynthia opened her mouth to reply, but she stopped when she felt a sudden pain in her heart. She let out a pained gasp as she stumbled back and suddenly fell onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Mommy!" Oculos screamed in horror as he quickly stood up.

"Is everything alright in here!?" Oculos' father asked worriedly as he stormed in.

His father gasped in horror when he saw Cynthia lying on the floor and her lifeless eyes stared up at him. He then looked up at his son's glowing eyes and he felt great pain in his chest. The adult dragon quickly looked down and started coughing violently. He soon started to cough up blood and he too fell to the ground.

"Oc…Oculos…" his father coughed as he shakily looked at his son's horrified face.

Oculos gasped in horror as the life drained from his father's eyes and tears started to slide down his cheeks.

"M-mommy… daddy… Help! Somebody help! Please!" the terrified young dragon screamed at the top of his lungs as he quickly looked around.

As his glowing eyes gazed around, various objects in his room began to violently shake and even fall off the shelves. Some of the objects that fell were lit candles. As the candles fell and landed on the floor, the small flames suddenly grew more intense and the walls of his room soon lit on fire.

Oculos began to cough from all the smoke in his room. He didn't want to leave his parents behind, but he knew he would die if he stayed in that room. He sobbed heavily as he sprinted out of his burning room and into the now burning hall. He ran as fast as his small legs could take him and made his way down the stairs.

The child soon rushed through his home's front door and gasped as he took in a lungful of fresh air. His eyes finally stopped glowing at that point and he panted heavily as he practically collapsed onto the ground. He shakily looked up to see that a large group of dragons had gathered around the front yard. Some of them were staring at the burning house with horror while others stared directly at Oculos with hate.

"That little bastard is no dragon! That thing is a demon!" an ice dragon roared as he pointed a talon at the crying child. "He just murdered his own parents in cold blood!" he continued, which started to rile up the crowd.

"Kill the Demon!" an earth dragoness yelled furiously and the crowd erupted in a cacophony of insults and death threats.

Oculos breathed heavily as he shakily stood up and watched as the crowd slowly came closer and closer. He let out a terrified scream before he suddenly turned to his left and sprinted as fast as he could away from the crowd.

The mass of dragons roared as they ran after the scared child. Oculos cried and screamed for help as he ran away, but no one came to save him. He ran down various roads and alleys and he even ran through the city gates. The crowd was still chasing him however and some of them even resorted to flying in order to catch up to him.

Eventually, the young dragonling ran into the thick foliage of the jungle and hid in a thorny bush. He winced as the sharp thorns poked his soft scales and he held his paws over his snout to muffle his sobs. He could hear the angry mob passing by the bush he was hiding in and once he couldn't hear them anymore, he finally released his snout.

"I… I hate my life… Oh ancestors, I hate my life… I hate my life…" Oculos sobbed miserably as he crawled into a small ball in the thorny bush and cried.

...

It wouldn't be more than a half hour later when the mob found Oculos again, and the chase continued. Despite being small and capable of running through tight spaces and putting a distance between himself and the mob that cried for his blood, Oculos began to grow tired...not just physically, but emotionally.

He killed his parents...two of the only people who loved him aside from his grandmother. He had no one left...if his grandmother learned what he did...then she would hate him to...he was alone...

"Get back here, monster!" one of the people in the crowd shouted with hate in their voice.

Oculos started crying as he ran between two large rocks, only to get cornered and he whipped around to see his furious pursuers. He started to breathe heavily in terror as he backed up against the wall and the Atlawans slowly approached him.

"Please don't hurt me…" Oculos begged through his sobs as he tried in vain to stop crying.

"Restrain the bitch!" one of the Atlawans said harshly and a bunch of them roughly grabbed the child.

They took out a bunch of rope and began to tie his limbs together and his snout shut. His vision went to black as they firmly tied a blindfold over his eyes and he was thrown onto the ground. He whimpered pathetically when he heard the sound of a dagger or knife being unsheathed and he started crying behind the blindfold.

"Wait. Who're you-AH!" Oculos heard one of the Atlawans cry in pain with the sound of something slashing into flesh.

'What's going on?' the little dragonling thought worriedly to himself as he heard the sounds of intense fighting.

He didn't have much time to think because he was hit in the head with what felt like a club. This caused him to black out and his world went dark.

...

Oculos drifted between both consciousness and unconsciousness. There were times Oculos would open his eyes, but would only find his surroundings blurred. But before he would lose consciousness, he felt the familiar feeling of dragon scales underneath him...someone was carrying him on their back.

One of the times he regained consciousness the young dragonling slowly moved his body, only to feel a strong, but gentle, wing cover his body.

"Shhhhhh..." A soothing voice said to the dragonling.

Before the Dragonling could reply, he found himself drifting back into the dark void of unconsciousness.

…

Oculos groaned quietly as his unnaturally colored eyes fluttered open to see a cloudy sky above him. He also quickly noticed that he was wrapped in fur blankets to keep him warm and he was in a snowy environment.

"You're in Dante's Freezer; just outside of Lumimyrsky." He heard a female voice speak out.

The little dragonling looked to his left to see a black dragoness sitting next to him and she was tending to a small campfire. He tried to get up, but he heard her speak again.

"You're still weak from earlier. Rest." the larger dragoness told him. "You've been out for a whole day." She added.

Oculos eyes widened at the realization and he figured that she must've saved his life. He laid back down in the warm blankets and looked at her with those yellow and red eyes of his.

"Who are you?" the gray scaled child asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

"My name is Persephone. I seek to change the world and make dragons ascend to their rightful place; making the world better for everyone." the dragoness, now identified as Persephone, explained with some proudness in her voice.

"What do you mean by that?" Oculos asked with interest, but he still sounded nervous.

She just chuckled at the question and fully faced him. Oculos looked into her eyes...and saw a pair of piercing yet, in his opinion, beautiful crimson eyes that seemed to radiate an unnatural glow. The eyes put the dragonling at ease.

"That's a story for another day. What I want to talk about, are those eyes of yours and your abilities to kill someone just by looking at them." She replied with a small smirk.

"How did you-?" the small dragonling started, feeling a sense of dread fill his little body.

"I know all about you, Oculos. I've been watching you for awhile now. I know that you accidentally killed your parents and how people treat you like a monster just because you're different." Persephone spoke, cutting him off. "I want you to use your abilities on me." she said all of a sudden.

"What? No, I don't want to hurt you." Oculos said quietly with a very uneased expression, but she just smiled at him reassuringly.

"Go ahead and do it." Persephone told him, but he still refused. "I promise that everything will be okay." She added.

Oculos began to feel frustrated from her persistence and his eyes began to glow. He still didn't want to do it, but he knew that she wouldn't stop until he did as she asked. He focused his death powers on her, a familiar feeling coursing through his body, the same feeling when he accidentally killed his mother and father with his power, but was greatly surprised when nothing happened. His eyes slowly stopped glowing and Persephone's smile widened, revealing pearly white teeth.

"You can't kill something that can't be killed." The black scaled dragoness said softly before she gently placed her paw on his head and proceeded to gently stroke his cheek, making the Dragonling blush. "Your eyes aren't scary nor hideous… your eyes are beautiful…" she told him with honestly in her voice.

The little gray scaled dragon was greatly surprised by her words and he felt a lot more comfortable around her. For some reason, even though he had only met her...he felt safe in her presence...the same feeling that his parents and grandmother made him feel. She then pulled her paw away and smiled down at him.

"I'm going to give you a choice that will determine your future. You can either go to Lumimyrsky where my friends will take care of you. You will also never go through suffering there or any hardship. OR… you could travel with me." she spoke up after a few minutes of them staring into each other's eyes.

"Travel with you? Where would we go?" Oculos asked with honest curiosity and she simply smiled.

"The road I travel is one filled with pain and most likely loss… it is not a road for young dragonlings to follow. But if you do follow me… there is no turning back." The black scaled dragoness answered as she stood up.

She then began to walk away, not giving him much time to think about his choices.

"Don't go…" the little gray dragon said quietly as he sat up, but she just kept walking, not once doubling back.

Oculos slowly looked towards the city of Lumimyrsky in the distance, liking the thought of staying somewhere safe for the rest of his life, but he didn't want to leave Persephone...someone who made him feel like an actual person. He looked over at her again and ran after the dragoness who saved his life.

This decision, unknown to the dragonling at the time, would change his life larger than he realized.

...

Oculos tailed Persephone for what felt to him like hours. The dragoness continued to walk in a continuous pace, not once looking back at Oculos. Despite being small and having to put much more effort into keeping up with Persephone's fast walking pace, the dragonling did not once get to far behind the mighty dragoness that saved him. He did not care how long it would take until Persephone acknowledged him, but he would do so until she finally did.

But at last: she did.

Persephone came to an immediate halt, causing the dragonling to bump into her hind leg and back up as the dragoness turned to face him.

"Very well Oculos." Persephone said, arching her neck as she lowered her head so the two were looking at each other eye to eye. "You may travel with me."

Oculos smiled at the dragoness. But he noticed how serious the dragoness looked, her eyes were emotionless.

"But..." Persephone said softly as she proceeded to circle him. "Just as I warned you: life now will not be as simple as it was back in your home in Tasangot with your parents. Now...you will be entering a whole new world."

Oculos felt his heart beat rapidly, surprised at the sudden change in Persephone's tone. But it was not hostile. While it was still friendly, it had taken an edge. Persephone was warning him about the life he had just chosen.

But despite feeling nervous: he did not regret following her.

Oculos nodded at Persephone.

The dragoness smiled.

"Good...but before we set camp for the night: I will tell you four rules that I expect you to obey while you are under my wing." Persephone said.

"What are they?" Oculos asked.

"I expect you to obey any command I give you." Persephone began. "I will not tell you to do something that I would not do myself, but when I tell you to do something: do it."

Oculos nodded, finding the rule reasonable.

"Remain aware at all times, training will begin without warning." Persephone continued. "You are entering a hard life: one that includes death and if you are not prepared then you will die. The enemy will not wait for you, and neither will I when I decide that you should be trained whether in combat or controlling your powers."

Oculos felt slightly nervous about this rule...this meant that at any time, Persephone would most likely initiate a training session...most likely even when he was sleeping. But if it meant controlling his new found powers...he would do it.

"No excuses, only answers." Persephone said, sitting down on the ground in front of Oculos, which the dragonling did as well, looking up at the dragoness who was now his mentor. "If you fail and you are going to tell me. I expect you to tell me EXACTLY what happened and why the task failed. Do not blame anything else for your failure."

Oculos nodded silently.

"Now...the most important rule:." Persephone paused, slowly reaching out with her paw and gripping Oculos' chin, causing him to look up to see Persephone's eyes turn cold. "Do not lie or show any disloyalty to me. If you betray me, show me disloyalty or lie to me. I promise you: You will regret crossing me. Dragonling or not...I do not tolerate disloyalty."

Despite the cold tone of his new mentor's words...Oculos did not feel frightened. No...he saw something flicker in Persephone's eyes...a moment of sadness as she told him the last rule.

Oculos nodded one last time to Persephone.

"I will never lie to you..." Oculos answered. "I will not break ANY of the rules...I promise."

"Good...very good..." Persephone said, before standing up, removing a bag from her shoulder, which had a contents of fur blankets for Oculos to sleep in. "Rest. I will set a fire. Tomorrow: we have much to do."

With that the rest of the night passed with a blur. Despite knowing the life he was entering would be difficult: Oculos did not care.

He had a new life...Persephone offered him a new life and he accepted it. Persephone had a dream, she mentioned before about Dragons ascending to their rightful place. This was enough. Persephone wanted to change the world, she did not judge him by his eyes. That was enough.

He would prove to his new teacher that he was capable.

But now: he would rest...and be ready for the morning to come.


	5. Chapter 4: The Crown of Light

**Chapter 4: The Crown**

It was snowing lightly in the city of Lumimyrsky and most of the residents within the city were staying indoors. Only a few guards and occasional wanderer traveled the city streets and alleys. The whole city had a very Nordic vibe to it because of its stone buildings and densely sloped rooftops.

In one of the city's many alleyways, Persephone and Oculos were walking side by side. About two years have passed by since she had rescued Oculos from the wrath of the mob of his home city. Since that tragic even in the young dragon's life, he had been learning much about the world, at least the way Persephone sees it.

The last two years had been hard for young Oculos, but he felt like all the hardships were worth it. He had learned a lot about his powers and even how to defend himself from those who would wish him harm. He also felt that his and Persephone's bond had strengthened since they first met, which made him happy.

Neither of them spoke a word as they walked down the current alley they were in and the white snow crunched under their paws. They both stopped in their tracks however when they heard a feminine scream coming from ahead of them.

"Stop! Help, thief!" the female voice called out.

"In the shadows, now." Persephone ordered sternly, yet quietly.

Oculos nodded silently before he and his dark mistress skulked into the shadows of the alley. As they stayed in the shadows, they moved further down into the alley to see what was going on. When they turned the corner ahead, they witness a mugging taking place. A wolf woman wearing a wool cloak and her mugger was a wolf man wearing leather common clothes. They were both pulling and tugging at a purse between them, which was most likely owned by the female wolf who cried for help a moment ago.

"Should we do something?" Oculos quietly asked Persephone, feeling pity towards the defenseless woman being mugged.

"I will do nothing, young one. You have a choice however. Do what you think is best." the black scaled dragoness answered simply as her red eyes looked down at him.

Without hesitation, Oculos stared directly at the mugger with a frown and his unnaturally yellow and red eye began to glow with power. Persephone had been teaching him how to better control his powers over luck.

At that moment, the robber stopped struggling for the purse and groaned as he fell to his knees in front of the now confused woman. He quickly placed his hand over his pounding heart and barred his teeth in obvious pain. The young dragon in the shadows focused more energy on the robber and within moments, the robber fell to the snowy ground, dead. The robber's heart had stopped due to a heart attack.

As soon as the mugger was dead, Oculos' eyes immediately stopped glowing and the woman stared at the body with shock. She slowly picked up her purse from the snow where they dropped it and she quickly ran out of the alley without spotting the two hiding dragons. As soon as she was gone, Persephone and Oculos stepped into the light and looked down at the motionless body at their feet.

Oculos smiled at the action he just performed and he felt proud of what he did. He even puffed his chest out a little in a heroic pose. Persephone simply held a flat frown as she slowly looked at her pupil.

"You are getting better at controlling your powers, but do you honestly think you made the best choice?" she questioned with an emotionless voice.

The young dragon immediately stopped puffing out his chest and looked up at his teacher with a frown. He was hoping that she'd congratulate him for rescuing that woman.

"He was robbing her, mistress. I rescued her." he explained with a cracked voice.

"Yes, but what of this man's family? Because of what you did, his family will starve. Without the money in that woman's purse, they won't be able to eat." Persephone told him without a single ounce of emotion in her voice. "I will not scold or congratulate you for what you've done, but think about what I've said." she added before she continued to walked down the alleyway without another word.

Oculos sadly lowered his head and waited a second or two before he followed the dark dragoness in front of him. He thought he did the right thing by killing that robber and saving the wolf girl earlier, but Persephone's words did make sense to him even though he wasn't happy about it.

Without a word, the two dragons made their way out of the alley and towards their destination. All the while, Oculos was thinking aobut what he had learned from that mugging.

...

Persephone and Oculos had not spoken a word to each other after the events in the alleyway, the two simply walked through the snowy streets of the commoner district of Lumimyrsky making their way to as of yet unknown location to Oculos. Oculos' mentor had yet to tell him where they were going to. But Oculos loyally walked beside Persephone, keeping his thoughts to himself and knowing that if it was of importance, Persephone would tell him.

That was one of the promises the Dragoness made to him. _"If it is of immediate concern or importance to you, I will inform you of it."_

Persephone had never lied to him, and he never lied to her, that alone made their relationship improve over the two years together. The seven year old had seen many things during his travels with the fabled Dragoness. Many that would have crushed a dragonling such as him without the proper experiences. But Persephone's strict, but reasonable, training helped the dragonling and she never once made him do something that was beyond his ability. Thanks to her training: the dragonling was considerably much stronger than a child his age.

At five and a half years of age, Oculos learned how to fly short to medium range distances and to glide. That kind of feet could only be achieved by a six year old dragonling, since their wings had yet to strengthen for such tasks.

During their travels, Oculos found comfort when being around Persephone. While this comfort was not like how he felt safe and sound in the embrace and company of his parents and grandmother, Oculos felt like, around Persephone, he knew that she would look after him and that everything she did for him was only for his benefit. While he had acquired many bruises from Persephone in their untimely spars, he knew these bruises were from his lack of awareness.

All in all: Persephone only had Oculos' best interests at heart and she had no intentions on turning back on her promise now or ever.

Back to the present, the two dragons made their way to a seemingly unimportant tavern. Oculos noticed that the sign was too faded to tell the name, but he saw a Dragoness engraved on the wooden sign. He heard his mentor huff as she looked away from the sign and placed her paw on the door and step inside and kept the door open for her young student and companion, doing her best to ignore the sign.

Oculos had a feeling it was best not to ask Persephone…

Upon entering the tavern, Oculos felt his scales immediately graced with warmth as he pushed back his fur cowl. Persephone did the same as she looked around at the environment…noticing the patrons and guests were paying no mind to them and were to focused on their food and mead the originated from farther north. The tavern was well lit with various candles and the blazing fire coming from the fire place that provided most of the warmth in the room.

Persephone glanced at the seven year old dragon who looked up at her with his yellow eyes. Noticing her glance to her side, Oculos understood the silent signal: _"Stay close, do not say anything unless addressed."_

Oculos nodded and stayed close to his mentor's right side as they approached the counter, where a Snow leopard stood on the other side while he cleaned tankards and plates of any residual scraps. When the approached the counter, Persephone tapped his talon on the counter four times, catching the Leopard's attention.

"What can I do for you milady?" The Leopard spoke in an accent that no doubt originated far north, in the Northern Leopard tribes. The Leopard looked at the dragonling beside her and cringed lightly at the sight of his yellow eyes but chose to keep his thoughts to himself. "Can I get you and the little one anything? A hot meal and Coffee for yourself and hot chocolate for the little one perhaps? My wife knows how to make the latter with the utmost perfect recipe for a cold night like tonight."

"I would appreciate if you got my nephew something, yes." Persephone said, using the normal title she gave to Oculos. Saying he was her child would have been too obvious, the excuse was used by many who had something to hide. "We have been travelling for quite some time and he has not had a fine meal since we left Warfang. I will be fine…I am actually meeting someone here."

"Very well milady," The snow leopard said. "I'll cook something up for the lad and bring something out. And who exactly are you waiting for if you do not mind me asking?"

"My Stepdaughter. An Ice Dragoness." Persephone said. "She promised to meet me here. She had business in Boyzitbig…until she could not take the heat anymore." She finished, earning a chuckle from the tender.

"Very well, I'll let her know you are here if I see her. Anyways, find a place to sit and I'll be right back." The leopard said, walking away into the kitchens.

Persephone and Oculos soon took a seat in the far corner of the tavern. Ten minutes later, the leopard came out with a plate that had a turkey drumstick, potatoes and rice on it. He also carried out two mugs, one being a cup of dark coffee and a cup of hot chocolate for Persephone and Oculos respectively. Thanking the leopard, Persephone paid him and proceeded to drink the bitter coffee, not cringing in the slightest from how bitter it tasted.

Oculos ate the food gratefully. Persephone had not told an entire lie: he had not eaten a warm meal in days.

While Oculos ate, the young dragon wondered exactly _who_ Persephone was meeting. Once again, the details of this meeting were unknown to him. But Oculos avoided asking any questions, aware Persephone would let him know if it was important. Of course the questioned look on Oculos face made it clear to Persephone he was deep in thought.

"I am waiting for my lieutenant, Cecilia." Persephone finally said, catching Oculos by surprise. "You remember me talking about her? Don't you?"

Oculos nodded. His mentor had told him all about her shadow army, The Forsworn. That had used the interim peace in the war between The Empire of Warfang and The Dark Master's Ape armies to secretly prepare and rebuild her army for an unknown plan in the distant future. Oculos knew the stories of The Forsworn, how Persephone was the infamous Dragon-Goddess of the Underworld.

His own grandmother told him scary stories, to his mother and father's chagrin, about Persephone once during a camping trip. The story told of how Persephone would stalk little children through the woods at night during dark and stormy evenings (of course) and steal the little one's souls and consume the body.

This story, of course, was a mere Fairy tale.

The Dragon-Goddess had told Oculos about Cecilia before. She had been a former Warfang general who was exiled from the Empire after committing an atrocity to the enemy civilian populace. According to Persephone she recruited Cecilia when she was at the darkest and lowest point of her life and made Cecilia her Lieutenant.

This would be the first time Oculos would meet any of Persephone's high ranking advisors. Part of him felt nervous, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his mentor's lieutenant.

The sound of the front door opening caught Oculos' attention; his head snapped to the front door and saw a twenty two year old Ice dragoness step through the door, wearing a fur coat and a travelling bag slung over her neck. The ice dragoness' light blue eyes scanned the tavern, until they met Persephone's. The dragoness' eyes lit up happily as she made her way over to Persephone and Oculos.

"Cecilia!" Persephone greeted, hugging the dragoness.

"Hello dear mother," Cecilia said, using the cover title for Persephone. "So glad to see you again."

"It is a pleasure as well my dear." Persephone said with her genuine smile.

Persephone's lieutenant looked over at Oculos and smiled.

"So? This must be young master Oculos I have heard about in your letters." Cecilia said. Persephone nodded.

"Yes, this is young Oculos." Persephone said, looking over at her apprentice. Oculos nodded and stood up to shake Cecilia's paw.

"Pleasure to meet you young one." Cecilia said.

"Thank you…Mistress Persephone says a lot of good things about you Lady Cecilia." Oculos said with a smile.

Cecilia smiled warmly.

"May I sit down?" Cecilia asked politely to her first in command. Persephone nodded, motioning her to a chair, which Cecilia accepted gratefully and sat down.

When Persephone and Oculos sat down, Cecilia leaned close to Persephone.

"I found it…" Cecilia whispered, reaching into her leather bag and pulling out a small package wrapped in parchment. Persephone looked at the package, her eyes softening when she laid eyes on it. "I cannot tell you how long it took those incompetent moles to dig this up milady. I told them that if they did not hurry, then you would have their heads."

"But they accomplished the task well Cecilia," Persephone said, taking the round package away from her lieutenant softly and rubbed her talon around the package. "You paid them didn't you?"

"As you commanded milady." Cecilia said. "Five hundred gold…each and two thousand for the mole who found it. But why give so much gold for those puny creatures?"

"Cecilia, each race plays a role in The Forsworn." Persephone said, her eyes not leaving the package. Which Oculos found himself interested in and wondering why his mentor was so interested in the package. "Dragons are superior above all races, yes…but even the lesser races should be rewarded for their loyalty and hard work."

Cecilia nodded.

"Yes milady…" Cecilia said. Looking around the room, the ice dragoness' eyes hardened.

Oculos was about to look in the dragoness' direction until he saw his mentor's eyes look into his, a wordless command to not look where Cecilia was staring.

"I know." Persephone muttered to Cecilia.

"How long?" Cecilia questioned quietly

"The moment we entered." Persephone answered.

"Then our conversation must be somewhere more private." Cecilia responded. The two Dragonesses stood up from the table. Oculos was about to follow until Persephone reached out and gently placed her paw over Oculos' shoulder.

"Wait here Oculos…finish your meal, do not leave this spot until I return." Persephone ordered quietly.

Oculos nodded; despite wanting to ask what was going on he trusted his mentor and would obey her.

"Yes mistress." Oculos answered.

Persephone smiled softly at her young apprentice and looked at Cecilia, the two dragonesses nodded and the two walked over to the counter. Oculos saw them speaking to the bartender, who nodded and motioned them to follow him into the kitchens.

Albeit awkwardly, Oculos continued to eat his meal. He was wondering why his mistress and Cecilia left and what was going on, but he knew better than to question things. Instead, he focused on his food and ate. He liked it very much and it was nice to just sit down and eat. He seldom had the opportunity to do this.

The gray dragonling barely noticed as an anthromorphic wolf stood up from his seat and walked over to Oculos' table. This wolf had light brown fur covering his muscular body and he was wearing a thick white robe over his body. Without even asking for position to sit, he seated himself across from the young dragon, who had noticed his presence by now.

"Hello, young one. How are you today?" the wolf asked kindly with a smile under the shadows of his white hood.

"I-I'm good, sir." the young dragon stuttered a little nervously and his unnatural eyes kept glancing where his mistress and Cecilia went; he really hoped that they would come back soon.

You don't have to be nervous, boy. I'm a friend." the wolf assured warmly, still holding that smile of his.

Oculos didn't reply to this and quietly went back to eating. He just hoped this guy wouldn't try anything funny until his mistress came back.

"Say… would you like to come with me for a little while? There is something I would like to show you." the cloaked figure asked vaguely.

"Um… no thank you. My ugh… my aunt told me to stay here." the gray dragon replied quietly, nearly forgetting Persephone's cover.

"Well, I am sure that your aunt won't mind if you come out with me for just a moment. I promise it won't take long." the wolf replied a little more urgently.

Oculos just shook his head and lowered his head. He really didn't want to follow this guy. Something felt off about him.

The cloaked wolf frowned at this point and slowly stood up. The seven year old dragon thought he was going to leave at first, but the figure just walked around the table and rested a paw firmly on his chest.

"Now child… we can do this one of two ways. You can either quietly come with me with no trouble… or I can drag you out kicking and screaming. What is your choice?" the white cloaked wolf stated with a heavy frown and he even barred his pearly white teeth.

Oculos started to breathe heavily at this moment and he slowly shook his head. The wolf just scoffed at this and roughly grabbed the dragon's other shoulder before he started to yank him out of his seat. The young dragon gasped and latched onto the table as the cloaked figure lifted his body up and tried to pull him away from the table. He was having trouble though because Oculos kept kicking his chest and squirmed in his grip.

"AUNTIE! HELP!" Oculos cried out desperately as he struggled against the cloaked figure's iron grip.

"Silence, you little brat!" the wolf snarled and he finally managed to pull the young dragon away from the table and lifted him up in the air.

At that moment, the tavern's kitchen doors burst open and both Persephone and Cecilia stormed into the main room. Both dragoness' glared at the wolf, who was still holding Oculos. The black scaled dragoness let out an animalistic growl before her crimson red eyes began to glow brightly. Within seconds, the world became hazy and time seemed to stop completely. The only ones who weren't affected by this spell were Persephone, Cecilia, and Oculos.

Without a word, Persephone approached the wolf and used her front paws to lift Oculos out of the would-be kidnapper's grip. She then placed Oculos down on the ground and made her way towards the exit.

"Let's go." she stated simply and opened the door for them.

Oculos was very shaken from what just happened, but he obeyed his mistress and walked out of the tavern and into the cold outdoors. Before she walked out as well, Cecilia roughly kicked the cloaked wolf between the legs with her mighty paw, but because time had slowed down, he didn't even flinch. Satisfied with this little act, she too walked out with a smile on her muzzle. Finally, Persephone followed them out and closed the door. As soon as the three of them were outside, time returned to normal and the cloaked wolf screamed from the pain in his crotch and dropped to his knees.

...

The three had left Lumimyrsky after the encounter with the Wolf in the Tavern. Deciding Lumimyrsky was not a safe enough place at that time, Persephone had decided the three of them would set up camp in the woods. Under the cover of night and in the darkness of the woods: Persephone, Cecilia and Oculos would set up camp for the night.

Deciding Oculos deserved a break from his lessons: Persephone told Oculos to go to bed early that night, much to the young Dragon's relief, as he was beginning to grow tired after the long travel to Lumimyrsky and the events of the day. Oculos had gratefully laid underneath his fur blankets, closing his heavy eyelids while Persephone sat beside her resting student protectively…like a mother looking after her sleeping child. While Persephone was far from acting like a mother to her student, Oculos did appreciate how Persephone cared about him and kept a protective eye over him.

He did not know when he fell asleep, but he was awoken to the voices of Persephone and Cecilia, who spoke from opposite sides of the fire pit they had set up. Oculos felt Persephone's presence still beside him while he remained laying down and kept his eyes closed, trying to go back to sleep. But his curiosity bested him yet again when he listened to the two's conversation.

"As you said milady: the nine jewels were not present…" Cecilia's voice spoke in a calm tone. "Why were the nine jewels separated from the main body of the crown?"

"Because without the crown and the nine jewels reunified: the jewels would lack their flawless shine. At first glance: the jewels would look like any other flawed rock…worth not even a piece of copper. After the Empress of Light was buried: Grave robbers broke into her fortified tomb. The guards, aware that they were outnumbered, plucked each jewel from The Empress' crown and gave the jewels and the crown to ten individual guards, who proceeded to escape the tomb while their brethren fought the robbers.

"After escaping the tomb: each of the ten guards that escapes hid the crown and the jewels across the world. The world eventually forgot about the crown and the jewels and the jewels and crown would be tossed into the Spectrum… and then the crown and jewels scattered to this world in the process."

Persephone had paused. For a moment Oculos thought that she realized he was awake. But he kept his breathing and heart steady. He then heard Persephone sigh, it was a sad sigh…she had originally paused to no doubt think back on the past…

"I was The Empress of Light's loyal hand…her servant and her bestfriend…I left after her death about 1,000 years ago. After I discovered the Crown and jewels were on this world, I decided to begin a search to reclaim my dear friend and mistress' crown and jewels…and place them in her new tomb."

Oculos found it surprising…his teacher… the legendary Dragon-Goddess of the Underworld, once served another? Oculos found it…surprising to think that his charismatic leader was once a subordinate of a mortal. His mistress seemed to speak of this Empress highly. One thing is certain: she was not referring to Empress Emera. While Oculos heard Persephone speak of Emera while reminiscing on the times of their past friendship, this "Empress of Light", how Persephone called her, she spoke of very highly…almost like Persephone _revered_ this woman.

Oculos heard his mistress stand up to her feet, leaving Oculos' side. The sound of the crunching of snow followed as she stepped farther away from the camp.

"Look after young Oculos while I am gone Cecilia…I need some time to…reflect." Persephone said.

"Yes milady." Cecilia responded.

With that, the sound of Persephone's footsteps grew distant as she walked into the woods. For the next several minutes, only the cracking of the wood in the fire pit could be heard in the fire pit, along with Cecilia occasional pacing in the snow…which only sparked the young Dragon's curiosity as to what she was doing. But his tired body got the best of him...dragging the young one's mind back into the realm of sleep.


End file.
